Taiwan has been granted associate membership in the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) and a Taiwanese researcher has been recognized as an EMBO “associate member.”
EMBO on Tuesday evening released its most recent list of members and member states, on which Academia Sinica microbiology and virology researcher James Liao (廖俊智) was listed as an associate member.
EMBO member states are mainly from the EU and although Taiwan participated in the organization under a “cooperation agreement” in 2012, this is the first time the country was granted associate membership.
Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times
India and Singapore are the only other two associate member states. Academia Sinica Department of International Affairs Director Meng Tzu-ching (孟子青) said he and others from the institution were able to secure associate membership for Taiwan after they briefed EMBO members on Taiwan’s strengths in scientific research at the organization’s annual meeting this year.
“Now that Taiwan is a member, it can send representatives to participate in the EMBO annual meeting every year, and can participate in discussions,” Meng said.
“This will expand opportunities for Taiwan in academic cooperation and exchanges with other countries.”
EMBO added 100 European researchers and 20 researchers from other regions this year. Those from outside of Europe are from countries including Taiwan, the US, Canada, Japan, China, India and Australia.
Liao, who is also the president of Academia Sinica, said he is frequently exposed to cross-field research, adding that this exposure provides him with a creative perspective and enthusiasm for research.
“I hope that this connection between Taiwan and EMBO can be further strengthened and that Taiwan can become a hub for researchers from Asia and Europe,” he said.
Liao said his research focuses on topics of biochemistry, such as the design and evolution of metabolic pathways.
In 2020, he published a study on synthetic methanophilic bacteria, which used synthetic biology technology to modify E. coli bacteria.
The research could help slow climate change and produce high-value carbon compounds by using methanol converted from greenhouse gases, he said.
Liao also led a team from Academia Sinica in a joint project with Taiwan Power Co aimed at developing decarbonized hydrogen-burning technology, allowing for reduced carbon emissions when generating power from natural gas.
To date, nine Academia Sinica researchers have received the “EMBO Global Investigator” scholarship and two have received the “EMBO Young Investigator” scholarship.
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